September 2, 2015

More than 80 students and faculty members visited the official launch of the Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Gillings Global Gateway™ on Aug. 27 to learn about the School’s global health activities and network with others interested in public health around the world.

Cathlene Webster (left) with Gillings Global Gateway staff member Heather Altman

Cathlene Webster (left) poses with Gillings Global Gateway staff member Heather Altman.

Cathlene Webster, first-year student in health behavior, said she was drawn to the open house to meet students in global public health who might have an interest in sports as a public health intervention tool in Latin America.

Nursing school doctoral student Adria Spinelli was pleased to spend time with Dilshad Jaff, MD, MPH, Gillings Global Gateway staff member and 2015 alumnus of the School. They spoke about Jaff’s work in conflict prevention and disaster preparedness, areas in which Spinelli also has a strong interest.

“School leaders envisioned the Gillings Global Gateway to promote the School’s global health assets, which include faculty research, teaching and service, and to provide connectivity for students who are passionate about global health and want to find like-minded peers and faculty members,” said Jim Herrington, PhD, executive director of the Gillings Global Gateway.

Dr. Peggy Bentley, associate dean for global health at the Gillings School, marks on the map one of the many countries in which she has conducted research.

Dr. Peggy Bentley, associate dean for global health at the Gillings School, marks on the map one of the many countries in which she has conducted research.

“We learned a lot when we asked our visitors to plot their global experiences on a wall-sized world map in our office,” said Naya Villarreal, MPH, program coordinator for the Gillings Global Gateway. “The end product revealed a fascinating distribution of places where faculty members and students have lived and worked around the globe.”

Asked what brought her to the event, Public Health Leadership Program student Kristen Said noted that she wanted to discover what was going on in global health at the Gillings School. She was delighted to learn about the Student Global Health Committee, co-led by Rabiga Khozhamkul and Samantha Croffut.

“As a second-year student already familiar with the Student Global Health Committee, the open house was a refresher course about the huge number of resources available for those of us interested in global health,” said Marie Lina Excellent, another student in the Public Health Leadership Program. “It was also an invaluable opportunity to meet new students from different departments. This is a tradition to sustain!”

Mark Sobsey, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of environmental sciences and engineering, stopped by and chatted with students who were admiring his low-tech devices for water purification and hand washing  that were on display at the event.

Gillings Global Gateway director Dr. James Herrington poses for a 'selfie' with 2015 alumna Dr. Patsy Polston.

Gillings Global Gateway director Dr. James Herrington poses for a ‘selfie’ with 2015 alumna Dr. Patsy Polston.

“I was delighted to have some of the technologies developed in my lab exhibited at the open house,” Sobsey said. “The development and implementation of simple new technologies, such as a station that facilitates hand washing at critical times of the day and a simple, portable test to analyze drinking water for fecal bacteria contamination are new water, sanitation and hygiene tools that support the School’s commitment to global health.”

“It was great to connect with other first-year students,” said maternal and child health student April Aviles. ”The talent and expertise students bring to Carolina is amazing! I am so looking forward to my time here.”

Master’s students Christophe Russier and Melanie Almeida, from the Ecolé des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique in France, are at the Gillings School on a fellowship program to study healthy aging through a collaborative program with the Carol Woods Retirement Community.

“We are so fortunate at the School to have partnerships such as these with the French public health school and Carol Woods, as they enrich the learning experience of students and faculty members alike,” Herrington said. “Building these partnerships is a primary goal of the Gillings Global Gateway, and our open house event was a successful demonstration of this in action.”

See more photos from the event on the School’s Flickr site.


Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu
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